Sidney Sweeting, DDS
In a blog that I posted in August 2006 I stated that if the Bahamas introduced their proposed National Health Plan, within three years several prominent physicians will have left the Bahamas or just given up the practice of medicine after realizing that they were, in fact, working for the Government. A lot of people scoffed at my prediction but a recent report on Fox news stated that a study by the prestigious New England journal of medicine revealed that if Obamacare becomes reality in the US a whopping 46% of its doctors will abandon their practice because they will have no interest in having their practice administered by a Government bureaucracy.
Our present Government has introduced a Prescription plan which is no doubt an introduction to the National Health plan. The Health Plan of Canada is often cited as a model for the Bahamas to follow. In the March issue of the Rotarian, the monthly magazine of Rotary International, visitors to the Rotary convention this year in Montreal have been advised to beware of "unregulated medications from 'Canadian ' pharmacies based in the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and Vietnam."
Those who advocate the Welfare State that Obama is trying so hard to get for the US often refer to the Scandanavian countries as the perfect example of massive statism bringing prosperity, An article in Mises, the journal of the Ludvig von Mises Institute puts the lie to that myth. Sweden became wealthy because of its exports to those countries that had been ravaged by the war. However "on the back of this boom the Swedish government began setting up a massive welfare state throughout the 1950's, 60's and 70's causing government spending to skyrocket to more than 50% of GDP. At one point during the mid- 70's the top marginal tax rate was an unbelievable 102%.
Does each government with this obsession believe that it can succeed where so many others have failed?
We need to get this message out there more forcefully to the Bahamian people. Both parties seem intent on implementing socialized medicine, to the Bahamas. The NIB prescription drug plan has already shown flaws, now as private pharmacist, don’t like the amount that the govt. is telling them that they have to make in profit.
Thing is most Bahamian people believe National Health Insurance or socialized medicine is a good thing, unless they hear the truth from other sources, they won’t realize it until it is too late. You would think the Bahamian govt. would be looking at Greece and even California now and see the effects of having massive entitlement programs. Either the country goes bankrupt, or the govt. increases taxes so much that the cost of living is so unbearable that it is not only unattractive to foreign investors, but even Bahamians start looking elsewhere emigrate, or more likely a boom in the underground market`and tax cheats.
You’re so right Larry.
The Nassau Institute was way out front on this on thanks to our president Joan Thompson.
We were able to bring speakers in with the help of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation from the US and the Fraser Institute out of Canada, but it’s as if they were speaking to deaf ears.
Our children and grand children will be worse off as a result, but few of us care about that at this point. We’re led to believe we’re getting something for nothing.
There has to be a simple way to take care of the disenfranchised etc without a government takeover of health care.
I just don’t understand this government, what in the hell are they thinking ? I used to think the PM put the people first, apparently I was wrong.Anyone who would do this to a country has a problem.What in Gods name are they thinking.Socialized medicine is a sure way to bankrupt us even further, that is a fact.Any country or state that has done it are now bankrupt.I think the government thinks we are all a bunch of idiots, just like they appear to be right now.